When It's Worth It
by gvmechvngers
Summary: Sideswipe was the frontline warrior that never expected to find himself a mate, much less a human one. Humans, however, are not without their flaws, as he has found out. Jealousy is never a good look on any species, and he may have had enough of it from her.


Sideswipe wiped a hand over his face, sigh coming from his mouth as he sat down on the leather of the couch. Outside, his and the others' alt modes were parked, resting serenely in a hangar not nearly. Solid holoforms, now a good upgrade from the ones they'd been given years ago sat as they listened to her movements in the kitchen.

She'd done it again. This was the third time in the last fifteen days that she had interfered in one of their assignments. The only difference, tonight had been the worst. She'd blown their cover on an operation that they'd worked on for months. They'd been put in a compromising position, and it was going to cost them. And then, there was the fact that for just a moment of time, Savannah had a gun pointed at her head. His spark had leapt out of his chest at the sight of that, and the roar that had escaped his vocalizers had caused the entire room to go still.

Everyone had told him that he should give her time to get used to him working with Catherine. She'd been the only femme that he'd given his attention to, until now. But, it'd been over a month since the femme soldier had joined the N.E.S.T operation's descendent, and Savannah wasn't making much progress in his eyes. He didn't know if he could take it, truly. He couldn't keep worrying about her when his focus on the field was supposed to be on just that—the field and his mission. And therein lay the problem. The brunette, human form, of the silver Autobot was starting to consider whether or not he should have made the choice to take a mate of his own. At that, his own spark protested; so much that the warrior found himself rubbing at the spot where his glowing life source pulsed beneath his human form. They weren't bonded, but, the thought had crossed his mind, and a month ago, the answer would have been a resounding yes. He had just been waiting for the right time.

He loved her, yes. That wasn't a question that he was even considering. But, things had just gotten complicated and he wasn't sure what more he could do to make her understand that he didn't want anyone else; that he was incapable of being with anyone else once he'd chosen her. He'd started out as her Guardian, once Cemetery Wind had been gotten rid of, years ago. It hadn't taken long to come smacking into reality that she was quite literally the perfect femme for him. Opposites they were, his cocky, showoff attitude, paired with his athleticism the perfect match to her intelligence and shy demeanor.

She wasn't an active soldier. Not by any means. Will had expressly forbidden both of his daughters from joining active duty, in an act to keep them safe, because he knew firsthand the kind of dangers that weren't even human, that lurked within the military's sights. Instead, Savannah worked within tactical communications. And it was relief for Sideswipe to know that his mate—potential mate, he reminded himself, was out of harm's way, at least.

" _You know she can't keep doing this, right?"_ Sunstreaker said through his connection with his brother. _"We spent months working on that. She had no right to even be there, bro. None. You've got to do something. She has got to get over the human."_

" _I know,"_ Sideswipe returned, a frustrated sigh coming out of his vocalizer. _"What do you want me to do? Lock her in our room every time I go out? I just wish she'd slaggin' listen to me. Just believe me."_

" _You don't do anything about it. That's my point,"_ came the yellow twin's retort. _"You let her get away with a lot of things. She needs to trust you, and stay out of your way when it comes to your assignments. The first time this happen, she should have been shut down then and there. But, you're worried about hurting her feelings, so here we are."_

" _Whatever,"_ Sideswipe muttered. _"I'll talk to you later. I'm going to see what she's up to."_

With that, the link was cut, and Sideswipe heaved a soft sigh before dragging himself up on human feet, before plodding into the kitchen. He steeled himself before stepping through the doorway, a glance made in Savannah's direction before he moved to lean against the counter opposite where she was standing. "So, we're going to go through this nonsense every week? Because I'm getting real tired of it," he told her, his voice holding at a steady, rough tone _._

"I wasn't thinking," she told him, almost immediately.

"That's what it always is with you," he shot back. "You weren't thinking! You not thinking could have gotten you killed! Why don't you stop to think about that for once?!" Anger seeped from him, his tone hard now, and raising just slightly. "Oh, that's right. You don't think, do you? You only care to make Catherine's life miserable. Do you ever think that maybe you should be thankful to her for going out there every single day, risking her life to keep her team safe? A team that I'm part of? Did you ever think that maybe she kept me alive once or twice?"

Savannah had the decency to look down, the expression on her face, the defiant one that she wore moments ago, now gone, and in its place was a look of dismay, and perhaps, even shame.

"Nothing to say about that?" he mocked, eyes narrowing on her, his want to remain calm during this talk with her, going straight out the window. Maybe if he scared her just a little, if he was firm with her, he'd get his point across finally, and they wouldn't have to revisit this conversation again. He could hope at least.

"I'm sorry," she told him, voice quiet now, eyes averted as she found the floor suddenly interesting. "I shouldn't have followed you," Savannah explained, voice sounding small now, like that of a child that had been thoroughly scolded for wrong-doing. "It won't happen again. I-I promise…"

He had heard it all before, and he was tempted to tell her that, but, stopped himself. "You keep saying that," he reminded her, the hard edge still in his voice. "But, it always comes back to this. At this point, I don't even know if I believe you," he told her. A hand reached up to rub his temples. "And I actually wanted to bond with you," he explained, voice quiet now. "And you can't even trust me."

His words rang in her ears, and then echoed in her mind. Those two spoken phrases were her undoing. Tears pricked at green eyes, and Savannah's head was cast down again, trying to hide them from him, and maybe even herself.

"Here's the thing. I need some time," he said, turning away from her now, because he couldn't bear to look at her, even as his spark protested the words. "I don't think I can be with someone that can't trust me. And I don't think I can trust you not to do something like this again. So, maybe we can both use the time to decide on what happens next," he clarified.

 **A/N:** So, here's the first chapter. I'm considering different options on how I want this story to play out. It's not going to be all angst, though. I love me some fluff as well. The fluff and other things might take some time to get there, though. Also, I am using Nick Bateman as what Sideswipe's human form looks like. :)

 **So, here's a question. If you were Sideswipe, would you forgive Savannah?**

 **Please read and review and let me know what you think. :)**


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